Berg Katse
For the antagonist from Gatchaman Crowds see Berg Katze (Crowds) (ベルク・カッツェ) was the second-in-command officer of Galactor, working directly under the true leader, Sosai X and a major antagonist in Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. They appeared in every episode to carry out the plans of Galactor for world domination. They are later revealed to have been manipulated to join Galactor by X in order to become his pawn. Background Berg Katse was created by the alien Sosai X to lead the terrorist organization Galactor to take over the world. They are a gestalt entity created through the fusion of fraternal twins while they were still in the womb. Because their component parts were male and female, Berg Katse was prone to switch sexes almost every year in their life, forcing them to hide their identity until they could control it in their adulthood, becoming a master of disguise as a result. This bizarre burden led to them to be easily recruited and manipulated by Sōsai X when he contacted Katse and convinced them that they were a superior being. Katse being composed of two people also enabled them to bear an exceptionally high strength and IQ, although their intelligence was only displayed when they were a female student, as professors who taught their male form believed the boy to not be as intelligent. It can be assumed that their strength was likewise linked to their male form. Appearance Berg Katse's most recognized appearance consists of a purple bodysuit and matching mask with long, cat-like ears. They wear a long purple cape with a red interior, a black belt with a large shield-shaped buckle, and red boots and gloves. Katse also notably wears lipstick. Throughout the series, Katse takes on many disguises, both of men and women, and can easily shed them off. Their unmasked appearance is revealed in episode 102, confirming that they are the same person as the mysterious female Galactor commander. Katse appears noticeably effeminate when unmasked, with long dark blond hair and grayish-blue eyes. These traits are also seen in the female commander. In their female form, Katse goes through a few different appearances, either wearing their hair up in a bun or in a long flowing ponytail. OVA Katse's design was somewhat updated and altered for the OVA. Instead of eye lenses on their mask, Katse has a blue visor. Their mask also has pointed extensions protruding off of it, and squared-off ears. They wear a violet and red bodysuit, beneath layers of a white overcoat and deep purple cape. Their unmasked appearance is also feminine, though their hair is a much lighter blond. Personality Berg Katse is known for their dark mood swings to the point of hysteria. They are incredibly loyal to Sosai X, as Galactor was the only place that they were accepted without prejudice. Katse has a strong hate for the world for rejecting them and believes that they are serving justice by helping Sosai X conquer the world. They are delighted when they successfully defeat Galactor's enemies or even civilians. Whenever They fail the mission, they panic because of the wrath from Sosai X. Abilities and Equipment Disguises Berg Katse is a master of disguise, having been switching between a man and woman for most of their life. They are able to blend into environments of people, and can fool everyone (even the most advanced technology). Intelligence Berg Katse, as a result of having a pair of brains fused together, has an IQ of 280 or higher. This allows them to formulate complex plans that would normally take years of consideration for the average person. In the field, they can command plans on the fly even when they go awry. Combat Berg Katse is a highly skilled fighter, able to fight against several enemies at once, even the whole Gatchaman team with all of their skills and equipment. This is due to the fact that, as with their intelligence, they have twice the muscle strength as a typical human before even taking into account any strength-bolstering methods they may have undergone. Bolster Katse commands a flying saucer, a Devil Star hovercraft, where they command their troops. They are capable of piloting it in a manner that not even the God Phoenix can pursue it. History Katse spent most of their life abducting, recruiting, torturing, and killing their rivals (as well as soldiers) for pleasure, out of loyalty (or fear) from Sōsai X, and to keep Galactor's intelligence classified. It is especially important that nobody knows the identity and nature of Berg Katse. Despite being so insecure, there were many times that they took pride in being a superior mutant. In episode 67, Katse thought it strange to destroy The Mantle Project, which is something that they could use after conquering Earth. Sōsai X wanted Katse to talk about something else. Sōsai X said to himself that he has no intention for Katse to rule Earth. Eventually, Katse learned that Sōsai X was only using them and that he had no more need for them or the Earth. They were promised conquest of Earth by Sōsai X many times. However, not even Sōsai X wanted Earth any more. Sōsai X, furious at the loss of his home planet Selectol, decided to destroy Earth. Blindsided, they commit suicide by jumping into a pit of lava, rather than continuing to live with the knowledge that they were just a powerless freak of nature. Momemts before their suicide, they expressed that they wanted to live their lives as two separate humans. They also cooperated with the Science Ninja Team by saying it is futile to stop the Black Hole operation since Katse trusted Sosai X and followed his orders. It was also impossible to avoid this, since Katse could not leave Galactor. Doing so would have resulted in rejection by everybody else as well as being executed by Sosai X. In the OVA remake, they are fatally stabbed by Ken, but confidently warned that their death is irrelevant as Galactor is far from defeated. Alterations in English Adaptations Battle Of The Planets Katse was renamed "Zoltar" in "Battle of the Planets" and was described as an alien overlord from the planet Spectra who wished to conquer the galaxy. Mark attempts to unmask him at one point, revealing a long mane of blond hair, but Zoltar manages to get away. Katse's female form was adapted into at least four different women: Zoltar's twin sister "Mala", a Spectra agent named "S-9", a Spectra agent named "Ms. Ostric", and yet another Spectra agent named "Hannah". This adaptation did not get to Episode 102, where the female commander and Katse are revealed to be one and the same. In addition, Gatchaman episode 88 was one of the earliest episodes that Sandy Frank had translated that involved the female commander, causing a massive rewrite to the plot to remove any possible hints or connection between "Hannah" and Zoltar. The episodes featuring "Mala" were among the last episodes to be dubbed, where the writers finally decided upon a familial connection. To hint upon her connection to Zoltar, Mala uses the surname "Latroz" as an alias. G-Force: Guardians of Space In "G-Force: Guardians of Space", Katse was renamed "Galactor" (which was previously only the name of the organization) and once more described as an alien being. The female commander's early appearances made it into this adaptation, although she explains that she's simply a follower of Galactor, and goes by aliases such as "Ms. Tompkins" or "Veronica". The early pitched version of "G-Force" had Katse renamed to be "Commander Zol". Saban's "Eagle Riders" Saban's "Eagle Riders" mentions Katse in passing early on as the alien invader "Lukan", and states that he was the father of Mallanox. However, this remains in question due to Saban's inconsistent dubbing practice and attempts at rewriting Mallanox's origin. Harmony Gold Dub The Harmony Gold dub of the OVA renamed Katse to "Solaris", and once more described them as an alien. 21st Century Dubs The English Dubs that occurred in the 21st century restored their name to Berg Katse. The female version(s) are referred to as Madame X or Madame Rahl. Voice Actors Katse was originally voiced by Mikio Terashima in their male/base form, while their female form went through three voice actresses through the course of the series: Hiroko Mori in episode 31, Toshiko Sawada in their appearances in episodes 32-33, 46, and 70, and Aiko Konoshima in their final appearance in episode 102. A fourth actress, Shima Sakai, voiced Katse's "evil woman" disguise in episode 29. The OVA had Katse's male form voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa, while Ai Orikasa voiced their female half. English Adaptations *As "Zoltar", they were voiced by Keye Luke in "Battle of the Planets". Mala's voice actress is officially unstated, although some fans believe she was either voiced by Janet Waldo or Takayo Fischer, along with the separate characters of Agent S-9 and Ms. Ostric (Hannah never got to speak). *Their actor in "G-Force" was Bill Capizzi, who voiced them with an electronic overlay effect used to alter his tone. Barbara Goodson provided the voice for the female Galactor commander. The actor in an earlier attempt at "G-Force" was John Ferguson. *They are voiced by R. Martin Klein in Harmony Gold's dub of the OVA. Klein had previously voiced Mallanox in "Eagle Riders". The actress for the female Solaris is unknown. * Edwin Neal voices Katse in ADV Films' dub of the series, as well as Sentai Filmworks' redub of the OVA series. The female Katse is voiced by Laurie Gallardo for the majority of ADV's dub (in episodes 31, 32, 33, 70, and 102), while voiced by Kira Vincent-Davis in episode 46. Claire Hamilton voices the female Katse in the redub of the OVA. Trivia *Berg Katse's name came from the german words for mountain (Berg) and cat (Katse) which can also be translated as wildcat or lion and alludes to their cat-like costume. Their name is also alternatively spelled "Berg Katze" due to this, and appears that way in Gatchaman Crowds. *Initial plans for the series had Katse as a woman working in disguise as a man, rather than being a sex-changing mutant. X was to also be a computer AI that she created that wound up becoming a monstrous entity, rather than her alien ruler. *The model sheets and planning notes also gave Katse's age as 29 years old, although this is never commented upon in the series. In the compilation movie, Katse is stated to be 30. *Katse's character notes state that they also like to tame wild animals. Most of their enemy mechas are designed after animals, for example Mammothoon seen in a few episodes. Also their secret base in Pursue Katse is surrounded by wildlife. In episode 72, Swarm A Plague Of Mini Iron Beasts, Katse is seen breeding grasshoppers and incubating baby grasshoppers. *Katse's initial design was to have them wearing a green, lion-like costume. While this design was scrapped, it did get recycled for the Turtle King commander in episodes 1 and 2. Category:Main villains Category:Gatchaman Category:Galactor